...Welcome

 What is GBI?

GBI is the NEW discretionary grant scheme from the Government (Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – BERR).The scheme was formerly known as Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE) and has taken over from the former SFIE scheme.

The scheme is a capital investment grant scheme aimed at encouraging businesses to invest in land and buildings, plant and machinery to support expansion and modernisation across England. These investments should increase productivity, skills and employment .

 Who Qualifies?

ALL of England is now grant aided with Tier 3 status under the GBI scheme to SMEs. Larger businesses can apply in Tier 1&2 assisted areas. Most manufacturing businesses are eligible to apply, as are businesses in service industries that supply a national rather than local market.  Applicants can be companies, partnerships or sole traders. Grants are not available simply to transfer jobs from one part of the country to another. 

    Launch a new business

    Expand, modernise or rationalise an existing business

    Upgrade your business, introducing technological or other innovatory improvements into your production or service processes 

    Take a new product, service or process from the development stage to production

 How much is available

The grant rates under GBI have now gone up for SMEs across England. A general guide to grant rates across England is given below. However each region varies slightly the intervention rates for the assisted areas.  

	Small Enterprises	Medium Enterprises	Large Businesses
	Staff < 50	50< Staff > 250	Staff > 250
Assisted Areas	35%	25%	15%
Rest of England	20%	10%	N/A

The greater part of your project’s funding should be provided by your business or come from the private, commercial sector. GBI should be the last piece of the financial jigsaw. This funding could include, for example, bank borrowing, hire purchase or lease finance. It may also include equity or loan finance from existing or new shareholders in your business.

Grants are awarded as a proportion of the project’s total investment, paid in instalments on reaching targets which are set out in a formal offer of support.

It is worth noting that there are slight variations in the scheme depending on where you are located and the size and type of your business. The minimum grant that can be applied for is £10,000.

 How do I Apply

Applications to the GBI scheme must be made directly to the 'Solutions for Business' Grant Team within the applicants Regional Development Agency (RDA). Applications can be submitted directly from the company or they can be compiled together with a business grant consultant .

 

Most RDA's accept pre-applications on the scheme and each RDA has its own pre-application process and each RDA has slightly different scheme criteria depending on their regional economic strategy.

The government's new 'Solutions for Business' strategy has been put in place to simplify identifying grants for your business and involves ensuring there are adequate business support networks in place to assist in accessing funding.

 

We can provide independent GBI grant advice & support. See 'About'......